Innocent Feelings
by Senigata
Summary: It was just a kind gesture between neighbors, but it was also the spark of something very special. Prequel to Journey of a Bardmaid and by extension Post Crisis.


**Final Fantasy VII and it's character's belong to SquareEnix and I don't make any money out of this.**

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**Innocent Feelings  
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_ **[ μ ] - εγλ 0000** _

Tifa hummed to herself as she wiped the bowl dry, before placing it back into the cupboard and walking over to the cooling rack to check on her little project. She took a whiff of the delicious smell. Almost done. She left the kitchen for a moment to check if there was anything that needed to be done but, finding nothing, returned to the kitchen where she sat down at the table.

"Not a lot to do today," she murmured and glanced over to the clock. Usually she always had something to do around the house. But with her father gone for a couple of days she was left without a lot of chores; only with an empty big house and her own thoughts.

Tifa felt a bit lonely. She still had all her friends, but these days she didn't hang out with them that much anymore. As the years went by the boys had developed their own interests outside their friendship, and ever since her mom died she was the one that picked up the slack where the household was concerned, which left her with less time to spend with them. But she supposed that was just how it went. She also had developed her own interests.

She had taken a huge liking to cooking and baking, something the boys sure weren't eager to do themselves. They usually drowned her out when she told them about a new recipe she heard of on the radio. And speaking of radio; where the boys were all about the newest songs from the big city she favored the country tunes of the likes of Billy Gil.

The last time she had been with them they were talking about what they would do when they left town. Leaving town…an odd idea, but she figured it was a boy thing. She would be sure to write them wherever they went!

Her father seemed to be glad at the prospect of the boys leaving, but when she asked him why that was he told her it was a 'father thing'. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn't here, since he would never approve of what she was planning to do today.

Three months ago she had turned 13. Another birthday that she barely celebrated ever since her mom died.

Back when she was alive there had always been a big party with her friends. But ever since her death it had become a quiet day that she would spend with her father because he couldn't bring himself to celebrate the way he used to. It was lonely, but she loved her father, so she went along with it. And he always made sure to wish her a happy birthday and give her a present, despite everything.

She had been in the garden that day, hanging out the laundry to dry, when she had spotted a familiar blond, spiky haired boy sitting on the swing attached to the tree inside the Strife's garden, brooding like he did most of the time. Cloud always made her feel a bit apprehensive. He had changed, years ago when she had fallen off that cliff and spend a week in a coma. He was still serious and didn't approach her when he could help it, but he had grown a temper and always got into fights with the other boys instead of just avoiding them. They claimed it was him that pushed her off the cliff, but even if she couldn't fully remember what had happened that day, she couldn't believe that Cloud would do something like that.

They weren't friends, not really. But they were neighbors and the few direct interactions that she had with him made him seem a bit too serious for someone only a year older than her, not someone that would push a person of a cliff. Besides, she had spied him once while he was helping his mother and he had been really sweet that day!

Maybe it was because he never knew his father?

Tifa had heard her father talking about it once. That Cloud's father had gone missing one day while out hunting and later been declared dead, leaving the young mother and her child to fend for themselves. She missed her mother dearly and she couldn't imagine how it must feel to never know one's parent at all.

Maybe it was because she had felt the same way that day, but watching him sit on that swing all by himself made him look so incredibly lonely. And it made her wonder if all of his birthdays had been like the one she was having that day.

So that's why she was sitting here right now, waiting for her newest batch of cupcakes to cool down, all the while eyeing a particular one with special frosting reading 'Happy Birthday'.

Her eyes wandered over to the calendar. August 11. Today was his birthday and she would make sure that at least one person other than his mom did think of him that day. A kind gesture between neighbors.

As she looked at the clock she was surprised that she had spend quite a bit of time in her own thoughts. Getting up from the chair she went over to her cupcakes, hovering her hand over them to check their temperature. Gingerly she picked one up and took a bite. She closed her eyes, a smile forming at the sweet taste. _Perfect._

She spent the next few minutes to finish eating it, before putting the rest away so that her cat wouldn't get her claws on it. Then she took Cloud's special birthday one and put it into the small basket she used when going to buy things from the store, closing the lid to protect it. Putting on her sandals she left the house with a spring in her step and walked over to the Strife home. She knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting patiently for a response.

"Coming!" Tifa heard a woman's voice call out from the inside and a short time later the door opened to reveal Cloud's mother. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she was dressed in her overalls, meaning she must have just returned from work. Tifa kinda admired Claudia. The woman had been dealt a hard lot in life but she hadn't given up and was working hard to provide for her son. She hoped that one day she could be just as strong.

"Hello," Tifa greeted her.

"Well I'll be—what brings you to our door, Tifa?" Surprise flickered over the older woman's face before being replaced by concern. "Did Cloud get into another fight?"

"Oh! No, don't worry." Tifa alleviated her concerns and Claudia immediately exhaled in relief. "I was actually looking for him?"

Cloud's mother looked at her for a moment, making Tifa feel slightly nervous. Did she think she was trying to play a prank on Cloud?

A chuckle escaped the woman as she leaned against the doorway. "He told he wanted to go down to the stream. He's been going there for a while now, so maybe he's still there?"

_The stream?_ Tifa wondered. She guessed it made sense. None of her friends went down there and it was a pretty secluded place if one wanted to think, which was a very Cloud thing to do.

"Thanks, I'll try searching there," she said, offering Claudia a smile before walking towards the edge of the town, saying hello to some of the other villagers as she passed by. In the distance she spotted Bryan and Timothy walking closely together, leaving the town in the opposite direction. Those two had been nearly inseparable for a while now, even talking about how they would leave town together. But they weren't the ones on her mind right now, so she headed into the woods with a small shrug of her shoulders.

Crickets chirped as she walked off the beaten path. This summer was slightly hotter than their usual mild climate during this season, but it also had the upside of more chances of going to the beach. Even her father couldn't say no to a good swim in this heat. It was always fun to have most of the town come together and simply relax. Of course even there Cloud had taken it onto himself to stay alone, sitting on one of the rocks and looking out towards the sea.

Or at her, as she had noticed the last time they had all been at the beach. The way he had looked at her made her feel weird. Not bad, just…funny?

His stare had been so intense that, even despite being in the cool water, her entire body had grown hot. A lot of the local boys had been looking at her recently, but none had made her feel like Cloud had. What did that mean?

She was startled out of her thoughts by a loud shout, followed by the sound of wood hitting wood. Following the sound, she hid behind a tree, peeking out to see what all the fuss was about. Shefound the object of her thoughts standing there, holding a branch in his hand like it was a sword and hitting a tree with it like it was an opponent in a duel to the death.

A giggle escaped her lips, startling the boy and making him whirl around, pointing the branch into her direction. Having exposed herself she stepped out from behind the tree, still giggling, and walked over to him.

"Hi!"

Cloud dropped the branch, clearly surprised to see her. As she approached him she saw his eyes widen and and he took a step back as he stared at her. Meeting his eyes with her own, she felt a tingle go through her stomach, and she gave him a friendly smile.

"T-Tifa?"

"I was looking for you."

"You-you did?" he asked, dropping his eyes to the ground and making her giggle again.

"Mhm." She nodded. Now it was her turn to look at him closely. He was a bit of a scrawny kid, not much taller than her, which she guessed was pretty small for a boy his age. His gravity defying hair was a bit less defying after his 'battling' against the tree and he looked downright embarrassed to have been found in this position. For someone that was so serious most of the time he was kinda cute right now. It was hard to believe that he would get into regular fights with some of her friends.

It made Tifa wonder if they could still become friends perhaps. They were neighbors after all, shouldn't that be normal?

But before any of that: the actual reason she was here for.

As she went to reach into her basket, a sound from one of the nearby brushes startled her and she turned to look towards the rustling leaves. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cloud turn as well. Suddenly a rabbit jumped out. Or it probably would have been a rabbit if not for bright green glowing pustules and the deformed shape of its body. It eyed them for a moment before it started growling, thumping its foot on the ground.

With a mad dash it jumped towards Tifa, causing her to stumble backwards. She covered her eyes with her hands, bracing herself to be mauled by this weird thing. But instead of feeling pain she heard Cloud grunt and the rabbit thing letting out a shrill scream. Peeking through her fingers, she saw that he had stepped in front of her and managed to grab it by its long ears. He was holding it at arms length as it screamed and tried to scratch him with its tiny claws.

"Dammit, hold still you—" gritting his teeth Cloud managed to lift it above his head before slamming it down to the ground. As soon as it collided with the ground he let go if its ears, then pulled his leg back to sent it flying towards a nearby tree with a solid kick. The beast slammed against the bark and fell to the ground. Tifa thought it was dead, because it was lying completely still, but all of a sudden it jumped to its feet and ran away like any frightened animal did.

Her heart thumping like mad, she looked over to Cloud, who was breathing hard. He turned to her and held out his hand to help her stand up. Taking his hand she got back onto her feet, brushing her hand over her dress and checking the inside of her basket. _Good,_ she thought, finding the cupcake still in one piece.

"What was that?" she asked Cloud. "I thought it was a rabbit but it looked…"

"Mutated?" Cloud offered.

"Yeah." she nodded in agreement. But what would cause a cute little thing like that to become such a horrid beast?

"I think it would be better if we—agh!" she heard Cloud gasp in pain and he pulled his leg up, making Tifa frown in concern.

"Everything alright?"

"I dunno, but my foot hurts."

"Here, let me help," she said and put one of his arms around her shoulders as she helped him walk over to a nearby log. Kneeling down she carefully removed his shoe, which still caused him to hiss in pain and she uttered a quick apology. Tifa wasn't an expert, but her father had taught her a couple of first aid things in the past, just in case something ever happened. "This is going to hurt, but try to bear it, please?"

Cloud nodded and hissed again as she moved his foot around. Nothing seemed to be broken. That was good.

"Looks like you sprained it while kicking that thing," she told him and a feeling of guilt overcame her. If he didn't feel the need to protect her he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"Sorry," she said and looked down at her feet, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Don't be," he mumbled. "It was my own fault for being too weak."

She offered him a weak smile at that. He seemed plenty strong to her just now. "Thank you."

He mumbled something else that she couldn't make out and turned his face away, but she didn't pry and instead took his arm to place it over her shoulders once more, to help him stand back up. "Come on, I'll help you get back home. It's the least I can do."

They slowly made their way back to town. Due to his injury it took them a while, but it gave Tifa time to think a bit more about her neighbor. How he had jumped in front of her to shield her had been pretty brave. And it made her wonder how her friends could claim that he pushed her down the cliff? Were they lying?

Looking at Cloud out of the corner of her eye, she saw that his head was lowered while he frowned. "Were you training?" she asked with a small smile.

"What?"

"I was wondering if you were training. You know, with the branch?"

"Mhm." He nodded.

"Any special reason?"

"N-no, just, you know, training," he stammered, making her giggle.

"Alright." They fell silent again, but it was a bit more pleasant now, and a little while later they arrived back in Nibelheim. The sun was starting to set and the town square was empty because people were busy making dinner. Which was probably a good thing, since they would have undoubtedly asked questions and Tifa found herself in no mood to answer any right now.

As they approached Cloud's house he untangled himself from her, adamant to limp the last few feet on his own.

"Just rest your foot, put some ice on it and it should be as good as new," she said to him, his back turned to her as he headed over to the door. He was reaching for the door handle when Tifa remembered her present. "Wait!"

He turned back towards her, a look of confusion on his face, and she walked over to him, her hand moving inside her basket.

"I wanted to give this to you earlier but things went a little crazy," she said and pulled out the cupcake, carefully holding it out towards him. Feeling a bit embarrassed after earlier, she found her toes very fascinating all of a sudden. "It's not much, but I thought, well, it's your birthday after all so…"

Shyly her eyes flickered up to look at his face, and for a moment she could have sworn that she saw his lip quivering, before he lowered tohis gaze to also look at his feet. Gingerly, Cloud reached out towards her hand to take the offered present. As their fingers brushed for just a fraction of a second Tifa felt a small rush of…something, causing her heart to beat faster and her face to heat up.

"You did this for me?" he asked her, looking at the words written on it with frosting.

"Yes," she said with a bright smile. "Happy Birthday, Cloud."

Today she had learned something new about her neighbor. Something that lay underneath that serious and temperamental personality of his. He was a bit shy and awkward, but also had a very brave side that she got to witness today. And as she watched him carefully dig into the cupcake, Tifa felt a warm and pleasant feeling well up inside her chest. She couldn't quite place it, but she liked it a lot.

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After that day things had changed, if only slightly. They still weren't really friends, but they interacted a bit less awkwardly as neighbors. Until one night in December, where he had asked her out to the well in the center of the town square. There he told her that he would leave to join SOLDIER. That night, they had made a promise. That he would come to her rescue should she ever find herself in trouble.

Following that night they had become closer, and Tifa had sought him to spend as much time with him as possible before left their little town follow his dream. To become her personal hero.

It wasn't until that early morning in Spring, when the last bit of Winter snow finally melted away, and she was waving him goodbye as he left on his journey to the big city, that she fully realized the feelings that had blossomed inside her heart, on that warm summer day that seemed so far, far away now.

But he had promised and she would hold that promise dear to her heart, for as long as it would take.

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**Aaah, isn't young love precious?**

**I hope you like this one. If you do, maybe leave a review and consider checking out my other two fics connected to this.**


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